Getting Your Move On in the New Year

Copyright to The Guiltless Life

How’s your week going peeps? It’s Thursday so it’s nearly TGIF – just hang in there!

That photo has nothing to do with this post except to show you that I’m having fun with my new camera – and to show you how cute Ben, one of my 3 ginger boys, is!

As part of my cleanse I’ve been really revamping my fitness routine. I wanted to go all out for this cleanse and my regime was due for an overhaul anyway – your body gets used to the same exercise really fast, so it is essential to keep switching things up! It was a goal of mine for this month and I achieved it – yay!

Rather than doing a ton of yoga interspersed with some gym cardio/weight circuits, I’ve taken on some dance classes (an old goal of mine that I finally completed!)So my schedule right now is pretty much:

• Monday – Dance
• Tuesday – Yoga
• Wednesday – Gym
• Thursday – Zumba
• Friday – Gym
• Saturday – Yoga
• Sunday – Rest

If I need a rest on one of the other days I take it, but one of those yoga classes is hatha, so it’s more like an active rest day anyway. Good times!

However, sometimes we get crunched for time or something happens that messes up our ‘perfect’ planned workout schedule.

The inspiration for this post came from this happening to me just a couple of nights ago – I had signed up for the Zumba course thinking it was on Tuesday nights, showed up and it is apparently on Thursdays. I was meeting a friend afterwards so suddenly I had just 30 minutes (by the time I got home) and I was dressed and raring to go, but had no workout!

I just pulled up the Tabata Timer app on my iPhone (a free app so download it! or just use a regular stopwatch or the Tabata Timer website’s online clock if working out at home by your computer) and I did 4 back to back Tabata interval sets while watching a King of Queens rerun on TV (it keeps me distracted so I work harder!).

Tabata Timer iPhone app

(Tabatas are exercises done for 20 seconds with 10 second breaks in between. You do them for a total of 8 rounds which equals 4 minutes.)

Bingo, I worked up an awesome sweat having worked out for only 16 minutes in total (though I took about 1-2 minute breaks between each 4-minute Tabata set).

I LOVE Tabata intervals and have done for a while. They’re a great way to work up a great sweat without too much time and because you’re switching things up so much, they keep you interested! If you don’t know what Tabata intervals are, Gina at Fitnessista did a great intro post on them here.

Coming up with ideas for Tabata exercises is always fun. Technically you can do any exercise for the 20-second intervals, but you want one that will work up a sweat. For example, a lot of people used to holding plank for 1 minute won’t find it very challenging to do a plank for 20 seconds. So when I do plank, I do it through the rest time as well.

I also try to mix in strengthening exercises (squats, plank etc) with cardio (jumping jacks, jumping kicks). That way you get a sweaty workout that’s also really working your muscles.

Source: http://pinterest.com/pin/145593000423307762/

Here are some ideas for exercises to do throughout your Tabata. I usually do 4 exercises per Tabata set – so doing each one twice:

• Plank (held through rest if you find it easy)
• Bicycle abs (also through rest)
• E-centric sit-ups
• Jumping jacks
• Jumping karate kicks
• Sandbag boxing (in air, as fast as possible)
• Jumping twists
• Fast run on the spot
• Step ups
• Mountain climbers
• Push-ups
• Tricep dips
• Side planks

This can be done during advertisement breaks when watching TV or before bed – anywhere, any time! No excuses for time getting away from us :).

BexLife.com has a YouTube channel with tons of 4-minute Tabata videos. You can follow along with her or just jot down her ideas for your own workout later on.

QUESTIONS:

• Have you ever done Tabata?
• What are some ideas you have for Tabata exercises? (I’m always looking for inspiration!)